Chapter 88 - 77: The Three-Day Bath Ceremony

Today is Ping’an’s "washing ceremony" day. After the family finished breakfast, Mother Zhang, as usual, prepared a new comb, new soap, new towel, navel brush, soup spoon, new wooden tray, thick cloth, pastries, tea, copper tea tray, scallions, ginger slices, mugwort, locust branches, warmer, raw and cooked eggs, mallet, and more as required by the midwife. She also dyed lychees, raw peanuts, and chestnuts red with red paper as a backup. She had prepared some of these things long before her grandson was born, so she was quite familiar with them and easily got everything ready. Early in the morning, Grandma Zhou came to the Zhang Family with two old hens and handmade small clothes and shoes. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Mr. Lin, the old in-law, she went to the west wing to see Zhou Jiao. Lin Lishan and her daughter both had tears in their eyes when they saw the old lady. The old lady had worked hard to raise Jiao Jiao, and Lin Lishan was very respectful and inwardly ashamed towards her mother-in-law. Mrs. Zhou smiled at the mother and daughter and touched Little Ping’an, "You shouldn’t cry during confinement. Today is a good day for our family’s baby; you should smile. Seeing you two together, a weight is lifted from my heart. Shanshan, you’ve suffered over the years, and the Zhou Family has wronged you. Treat Jiao Jiao well; this child is filial. She wouldn’t have torn things apart with them if she hadn’t been forced to. Since she was young, she’s kept things to herself like her father, never telling outsiders. She’s suffered a lot over the years, all because that old man was muddleheaded. Jiao Jiao, you shouldn’t care about Zhou Family’s matters in the future; even if someone finds you, ignore it and live your own life well." Zhou Jiao pulled Mrs. Zhou to sit down and said, "Grandma, I just feel sorry for you. You raised me, and I haven’t repaid you, yet still pierced your heart. Grandma, if you have any thoughts, let me know, and I’ll definitely take care of them. I also told my mom about the box you sent; she must know I’ve got a good grandma." Sitting on the kang, Grandma Zhou was silent for a while, sighed, glanced at the mother and daughter, hesitated for a moment, and said, "There’s nothing to feel sorry about for me. As long as Jiao Jiao is doing well, that’s enough. It’s good to tell your mom; that box isn’t your grandma’s. When I met your grandpa, we were already at the end of our rope. Where could I get such good things? You saw that land deed, right? I didn’t have the capability to buy a house for you far away. This box was originally yours. Since you were little, I didn’t take it out for fear of accidents; it was secretly handed to me with the name earmarked for you. All these years, I’ve been worried sick, not daring to tell anyone. While you two are here, I’ll tell you. I’m afraid I won’t have many days left, and no one will know about it. You tell me, who would give you a house and precious jewelry? I’m worried, not daring to say a word. You two just act as if this never happened and hide the box well. We don’t know what hardship is coming, and we haven’t found your grandfather. You mustn’t tell anyone. The thought of it makes my heart ache. Jiao Jiao, your dad would never do anything bad. He’s my son, I know his character. If he wasn’t good, would your mom have stayed for so many years?" Lin Lishan, with tears in her eyes, hugged the old lady and quietly said, "Mom, don’t worry, everything’s fine. Her dad’s not a bad person; he’s a hero of this country. He’s on a mission. He’s coming back soon, even my dad doesn’t know he’s on a mission with my older brother. He’s coming back very soon. Mom, he really is coming back." Mrs. Zhou, with trembling hands, covered her eyes. After a long while, she slowly moved them, and tears streamed silently down her face, full of mixed emotions, without a sound of crying, just letting the tears flow. "Good, good, good, my son is coming back. I’ve yearned, worried for so many years; coming back is good, coming back is good." Lin Lishan stood up and took a towel to wipe the tears off the old lady’s face. She understood those feelings, as when she heard the news, she hid in her room, crying and laughing for a whole day, causing Mr. Lin to worry and accompany her all day. "Mom, don’t get too excited. Few people know this news, so you have to keep it secret as well. He should be able to come back by the end of the year. When he returns, I’ll go see you with him, and we’ll all be happy waiting for his return." "Yes, I know I have to keep it secret, not tell others, or it will bring danger to him. Shanshan, my good child, you finally made it through; you were only 18 when you married, didn’t even have a few good years, and the family fell apart. You’ve foolishly stayed faithful to him. Now it’s good; I’m relieved. Even if I go now, I’m at ease." Mrs. Zhou hugged Lin Lishan and patted her back. Lin Lishan happily said to Mrs. Zhou, "Mom, don’t say such unlucky things; you have to live well to see our Little Ping’an grow up, get married, and have children. You don’t know how joyous it was when the news of Jiao Jiao’s pregnancy reached Beijing. That afternoon, we received news from above that her dad and her uncle were alive. The whole family says this child is a blessing." Relatives and friends came over one after another. Close relatives gave Zhou Jiao some oil pastries, eggs, brown sugar, and gifts like clothes, shoes, and socks for Ping’an. By noon, the weather warmed up, and the washing ceremony began. Friends and relatives all gathered in the main room, and Mother Zhang even set up a stove. The washing ceremony tool was a large basin, with the midwife as the host. Today was a big day for the midwife, who would take all the items from the tray. Hot water boiled with locust branches and mugwort was poured into the basin. Mr. Lin took the lead by adding a small spoon of clear water into the basin. After putting paper money and vouchers in the tea tray, Lin Lishan also added silver coins, copper coins, and paper money. Relatives and friends present continued by adding some paper money, vouchers, copper coins, peanuts, eggs, dates, lychees, and chestnuts into the basin; this was called "filling the basin." You added clear water, she said, "Ever-flowing water, clever and quick-witted;" You added auspicious fruits like dates, lychees, and chestnuts, and she would say, "Early to have a child, continuously give birth to noble children; lychees, lychees, continue to succeed thrice in a row." The relatives and friends watching laughed heartily. After "filling the basin," the midwife picked up a prepared mallet, stirred in the basin, and said, "One stir, two stirs, three stirs, brother leads his brother running. Seventy, eighty, crooked-haired, naughty, all come up!" Then began to bathe Ping’an, who cried loudly from the chill, worrying Zhang Guoqing standing to the side. Instead of being seen as taboo, this was considered auspicious, a "sound basin." The midwife washed while silently mumbling blessings that others couldn’t hear, carefully watching out for anything inappropriate to say aloud. After the bath, Ping’an was wrapped in a red quilt, gently tapped three times with a scallion, and said, "A tap for intelligence (’cong’ sounds like ’cong’), and a tap for being quick-witted." Then asked the child’s father, Zhang Guoqing, to throw the scallion onto the roof. Zhang Guoqing quickly let someone take the child into the house, as it was cold that day. The washing ceremony concluded, followed by the washing ceremony feast. The eldest and third wives of the Old Zhang family, along with a cousin-in-law, came early at dawn to help knead the dough in preparation for the feast. By noon, noodles were cooked, each bowl served with a bone broth base, topped with a few slices of tender meat, and some scallions, smelling fragrant. They began to serve them to the main room, and luckily, Zhang Guoqing had brought back a lot of meat the day before. Everyone ate until their mouths were oily and all acknowledged Old Zhang’s sincerity and the generous servings in each bowl. Watching as the children wanted more after one bowl, the adults stopped them. Mother Zhang wasn’t stingy and asked for all the prepared noodles to be cooked and served. In the main room, the women chatted loudly while eating, discussing village matters, distant relatives’ events, and each other’s lives. The children counted the candies in their pockets, happily eating the noodles fed by adults, while the slightly older kids, after finishing their noodles, ran out with candies.